What would a post-Mubarak government in Egypt look like? If it is indeed a democracy, would that provide freedom of religion, or would it institutionalize oppressive Islamic “Sharia” law?
We might get some idea from the respected Pew Research Center, a non-partisan group that recently surveyed religious and political attitudes in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
Among its results: Egyptians prefer democracy to any other kind of government (by nearly 3 to 1). This might seem to offer hope that moderation will prevail in a new government by the people and for the people. But Pew Research reports: “In nearly all of the [Islamic Middle] countries surveyed, support for harsh punishments such as stoning people who commit adultery, whippings and cutting off of hands for crimes like theft and robbery and the death penalty for those who leave the Muslim religion coexists with support for democratic governance.”
Specifically in Egypt, 82% favor stoning for people who commit adultery, 77% want robbers to be whipped or have their hands cut off, and (ominously) 84% want the death penalty for people who leave the Muslim religion. This would seem to portend trouble in Egypt. Despite being suppressed by President Hosni Mubarak, I think the Muslim Brotherhood (an ultra-conservative Muslim political party) is positioned to muster the organization, leadership and vision to rally the overwhelmingly conservative Islamic populace of Egypt into forming a Sharia-based government. This might follow a weak interim coalition headed by Mohammed ElBaradei–who seems to be more of a dialoguing diplomat than a streetwise strategist.
Alexis de Tocqueville was a French historian/political thinker who, two centuries ago, was so fascinated by the new American political system that he crossed the Atlantic and toured this nation. Among his astute perceptions, I believe, was the statement that democracy can be good only as long as the people are good.
We may then conclude that if the majority has an extremist mindset, then democracy (government of the people and by the people) simply establishes and legitimizes oppression of the minority. Then woe be to those who violate Sharia in an Islamic fundamentalist democracy.
Big changes seem about to happen not only in Egypt but a number of other majority Islamic nations in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. The showdown with fundamentalist Islam that I fear most is in Nigeria (for the sake of its own people, not for its international implications other than its oil production). Surveys show that Nigeria has by far the most oppressive mindset among its Muslim population (specifically the men), and there is also a large Christian population to the south—potential persecution victims. Only a Sudanese-type split could save that nation from Uganda-style carnage to come, but such a political solution seems highly unlikely. There have been sporadic outbreaks of violence in Nigeria, but nothing like the meltdown I fear will happen there.
Just my thinking. I could be wrong about all of this—and in fact I hope that I am. But Bible prophecy leaves little doubt that there will be end-time chaos just before Jesus comes. For more on a potential showdown between political Islam and the West, click here.
